A Little Kindness
by Bexiekun
Summary: Finding herself alive after the battle with Cell, Android Eighteen is at a loss at what to do. So she ends up spending time with the only person who ever showed her any kindness - a certain short, bald warrior. Chapter 4 up!
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is my first multi-chapter fic. Was I planning on doing one about Eighteen and Krillin? No. But the idea for this just popped into my head randomly, and you know how ideas are – they just sit there, bugging you, like they're saying "Write me! Write me!" in some annoying high-pitched voice until you give in. xD**

**Anyway. I've always wondered how Eighteen and Krillin ended up together. I mean, it just goes like this in the anime:**

**(After Cell games) Lol, Krillin fancies an android. **

**(Seven years later) Hey, they got married and had a kid, but we're not telling you how it happened so deal with it!**

**So this is my take on it all. :P**

* * *

><p>Android Eighteen's mind was racing as she flew away from the Lookout.<p>

She was back.

The last thing she could remember was being sucked up through Cell's tail, screaming. Screaming at how unfair it was, how disgusting it felt, and at the despair. Despair at the fact that she was, essentially, going to die. Oh, Cell could prattle on as much as he liked about how it was her _destiny,_ how she was _supposed_ to be a part of him, how she had been created just for this purpose. But the fact remained that she was going to be gone, lost inside this... this _thing_, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Besides, Cell had been wrong. She hadn't been _created_ for anything. Dr. Gero hadn't made her. All he'd done was kidnap her and her brother and conduct horrible experiments on them as he turned them into androids. She couldn't remember anything about her life from when she was human. Her first memories were of when Dr. Gero had first activated her – but sometimes she thought she remembered something else, during her nightmares. Nightmares of lying on a cold metal table. And pain. Lots and lots of pain.

She could remember the last thing she heard as she was sucked up into Cell as clear as day. It had been muffled through his tail, and drowned out somewhat by the sounds of her own screams, but she had heard him. Yelling at Cell to let her go. She could hear Cell's answering laughter. She could hear him attack in a bid to free her, even though he had no chance of defeating the big green freak.

Krillin.

She didn't know why he was trying to help her. Everyone else thought she was a monster – that purple haired kid had told them so. She had thought the only reason Piccolo and Tien had tried to help her was because they wanted to stop Cell from becoming even more powerful. Once Cell was out of the way, she had no doubt that they would have turned on her.

But not Krillin.

He'd had the chance to kill her, shut her down for good. She'd seen what he was holding, that remote. She knew what would happen if he just moved his finger and pushed the big red button. But he hadn't. For reasons she still didn't understand, he had smashed it to pieces, telling her to run.

Why? He could have destroyed her and stopped Cell from becoming more powerful. Two birds with one stone. But he didn't.

And then, when she had woken up, back on the Lookout, the first thing she saw was him, leaning over her. He had looked... happy. Happy to see her wake up.

Eighteen stopped, dropping down to the ground, thinking. But _why_? Why on earth would he do that?

She had doubled back to the Lookout when she saw the sky darken, and she couldn't believe what she saw. A dragon. A real-life, honest to Kami dragon. And not just any dragon. A freaking _magical_ dragon that could grant _wishes._

Her mouth had hung open as she watched the purple haired guy – who had obviously been dead just a moment before – get up, without so much as a scratch on his body. What the hell? Maybe this was all some weird dream, and she'd wake up soon, back in Dr. Gero's lab.

But it was real.

And then she'd heard him – Krillin – asking the dragon to turn her and Seventeen back into humans. And when that didn't work, he asked for the self-destruct devices to be removed from their bodies.

She had felt that happen. It had been so weird. She hadn't even been aware that she could feel that bomb inside her chest, until suddenly it was gone.

None of his friends could understand why he was trying to help her. Neither did she, come to that.

But he was... _nice_. They all were, really.

Eighteen sighed. All this thinking was making her head hurt. She took off into the air again.

So, the dragon... it had revived everyone killed by Cell. So that must mean that Seventeen was out there somewhere. But where to look? After a few seconds, Eighteen decided to try the place where Cell had absorbed him. After it, that had been the place where he'd technically "died". She supposed it made as much sense as any other theory that he would appear there.

It took her a while to find the island, identifying it by the huge, triangle shaped crater left by Tien's Tri-Beam attacks. She could see someone there. As she got closer, she realised that it was her brother. So her hunch had been correct.

He was standing at the edge of the crater, peering into it with vague interest. When she landed behind him, he turned, regarding her with surprise.

"Eighteen!" he exclaimed. "You're back, too?" She nodded. "What the _hell_ happened?" asked Seventeen. "The last thing I remember is that freak Cell..." he broke off, giving an involuntary shudder.

"I'm not exactly sure," said Eighteen, but she filled him in on everything she had heard, and what she had guessed. Seventeen's eyebrows travelled further and further up his forehead as she spoke.

"So let me get this straight," he said once she had finished. "Those guys have some magic dragon that can grant wishes, and it brought me back to life?" His sister nodded, and Seventeen gave a derisive laugh. "Man, sis, I don't know what you've been smoking, but can I have some?"

Eighteen pushed him. "I'm not lying!" she snarled. "I saw it! It was a fucking dragon! How about _you_ explain how you ended up back here!"

Seventeen paused for a moment. "I can't." He shrugged. "But I guess it doesn't really matter. We're here, either way."

Eighteen nodded. "So... what do we do now?"

"I dunno," replied Seventeen. "But I was thinking... maybe it'd be nice to, I dunno. Live in a little house in the woods or something. Away from people. Get some guns, have some fun."

Eighteen stared at him, dumbfounded. "... You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm serious!"

"You would seriously be happy living a quiet life in the _woods_?"

Seventeen shrugged again. "Hey, after all this crap, a bit of peace and quiet sounds pretty appealing."

Eighteen folded her arms. "Well, _I'm _not slumming it in some run-down shack." Her brother smirked.

"Who said I was going to live in a shack? What about you? Got any better ideas?"

"I don't know. I figured I'd spend some time deciding on that. But I _do_ know that there's no way I'm living in the woods."

Seventeen blinked. "Well. Okay. So... is this goodbye then, or something?" Eighteen rolled her eyes.

"Don't be an idiot. I'll come visit you. Or you could come visit me. You _are _my brother, after all."

Seventeen grinned. "Fine, then, so long as Miss High-and-Mighty can stoop low enough to come to the woods." He dodged her punch. "Uh-uh, too slow!" He held out his hand, and Eighteen clasped it briefly. "Well, 'spose I better go and pick a spot. No point in hanging around. Catch you later, sis." He turned, ready to leave.

"Wait a minute, Seventeen." He turned back round, looking at his sister.

"What?"

"Have you ever... y'know... wanted to go out, and kill humans?"

Seventeen considered this, narrowing his eyes. "Not... really." He finally answered. "I mean, what would be the point? I'm not overly fond of humans, which is why I want to live somewhere away from them, but do I want to go and blow them up? Not especially. It'd get boring pretty fast, they're no challenge. I'll stay out of their way if they stay out of mine."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. Besides, what would be good about destroying all the fun things? Like arcades, and amusement parks, and places that sell fast cars? Nah." He looked at her, slightly confused. "Why do you ask?"

Eighteen hesitated for a moment, before shrugging. "No reason."

* * *

><p><strong>Eighteen refers to Trunks as "the purple-haired guy" because, iirc, she never learned his name, and as he was from the future, she wouldn't have any data on him like she does for everyone else, so she wouldn't know who he is.<strong>

**I've got the next few bits of this story floating around, so hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon. In the meantime, please review.**

**Oh, and yay for Android Seventeen! I loved him, and it always annoyed me how he just disappeared after the Cell Saga – unless you count the five seconds he appeared in the Buu Saga. I miss Seventeen. :(**


	2. Chapter 2

Eighteen wandered around what felt like the hundredth store, a bunch of clothes draped over her arm. Finally, somewhere that actually sold _nice _clothes. Ahh, shopping. The ultimate therapy.

Her face brightened as she spotted the shoes section. "Ooh, these are cute!" she murmured to herself, picking up a pair of ankle boots. Smiling at her find, she added it to the already considerable collection of garments she already carried.

It was at that moment that Eighteen realised how pointless this was. She couldn't get these clothes. Not because she didn't have any money – she already knew that and had just planned on walking out with them. Who'd be able to stop her? That pudgy security guard? No, it was pointless because she didn't have anywhere to put the clothes.

She didn't have anywhere to put _herself._ Nowhere to live, let alone a wardrobe.

Eighteen sighed, dropping the clothes onto the floor. The store's staff glared at her as she left the premises. Probably mad that she made a mess. But why should she care? It was _their _job to sort this stuff out, after all.

She sat on a bench in the main mall complex, watching the people go by. _Humans._ They really were pitifully weak. She could destroy this place with her little finger. She could have them all screaming in terror, running for their lives.

Why, though?

She hadn't heard everything, but from what she could gather, the purple-haired guy – what was his name? – was from the future. And in his future, she and Seventeen spent all their time killing humans and destroying the world. And that was why he had come back, to try and kill them both before they could do the same in this time.

And that was what she couldn't understand. Sure, she had no problem teaching people a painful lesson if they annoyed her. She felt no compassion for humans. Would she blink an eye if something happened and they all died? No. But did she want to just go and start killing them all for the sake of it?

Again... no. She agreed with Seventeen – what would be the point? Besides, she doubted those fighters from the Lookout would just sit back and let her cause havoc. That kid Gohan had defeated Cell – what chance would she have against him? She'd barely have time to wipe out one small town before he'd come along and give her a good blasting for her trouble.

No, it was quite pointless.

Eighteen sighed, crossing her arms and legs tightly. Arrgh! This was so _boring._ She really didn't think this through. She didn't have anywhere to go. Maybe she should go and find Seventeen...

She shook her head determinedly. No. She wasn't going to go back to her brother after she had been so emphatically against living in the woods like a bum. Her pride wouldn't allow it. Also, she didn't think she could stand Seventeen's teasing if she did.

"_Ohhh, look who came crawling back. Has the princess lowered her standards? Would Her Highness care to take off her muddy boots? It may only be a 'run-down shack', but one must have standards, mustn't one? Hah, I knew you wouldn't last without me, sis."_

No. No no no. She would _not_ give him the satisfaction. But aside from her brother, she didn't have anyone else to turn to.

Suddenly, Krillin's face flashed through her mind.

He... had offered. He had asked her to come over and join him and his friends on the Lookout. She had refused but... he had offered.

Hmm. Maybe she could drop by. It couldn't hurt. Besides, she had some questions she wanted to ask him. She wanted to know what his deal was. She checked her data, which told her the best place to find Krillin was at Kame House, on a small island out to sea. She remembered the place. She, Sixteen and Seventeen had gone there, looking for Goku. Instead, they got that green weirdo, Piccolo.

It shouldn't be too hard to find it again.

* * *

><p>Eighteen was wondering whether this had been a good idea, hovering in the air above Kame House.<p>

It had been easy enough to reach the strange, pink dwelling. But once she got there, she didn't know what to do. What, was she supposed to just go down there, knock on the door, and say "Oh, hi there. You asked me to come over back at the Lookout place, and well, here I am! _Surprise!_"

She sighed. She would _really _have to start planning things out more.

Eighteen saw the front door of the house opening. Moving quickly, she flew over and landed on the roof, out of sight. She knew no-one would know she was there – she was an android, she had no energy to detect. Peering over the edge, she saw Krillin emerge from the house.

"Oh, stop moping, Krillin!" a voice inside the house called. "You should be happy! The world is finally safe again. Cheer up!"

"... Yeah. Sure." Krillin called back, sighing. He moved over towards the waves, staring out over the sea.

Eighteen sat there, considering her options. She decided she had three.

One: She could stay here, hiding on the roof like an idiot.

Two: She could leave, and run away like a little weakling.

Three: She could do what she came here to do and talk to him.

... Option three it was.

Eighteen jumped down from the roof. Krillin turned at the sound of her hitting the sand, and stared at her opened mouthed. _'She's here!' _he thought. _'She's actually here! Here I was, just thinking about how much I wanted to see her, and here she is! Oh, crap. Now what do I do?'_

"Uhhh... hi." He said, immediately feeling stupid.

"... Hello."

"Um. Er. Ah. N-nice day, huh?" Krillin wanted to kick himself. What the hell was he saying? Eighteen merely raised an eyebrow. The silence stretched on.

'_Say something, Krillin! Say anything! Oh man, why does she have to keep staring at me like that?'_

"So, uh, what brings you here?" he ventured.

"You told me to." She replied, like it was obvious.

"Huh? I did?"

"Back on the Lookout place. After that... that dragon. You said to come over and join you."

Krillin gaped at her. Yes, he had said that. And she had said no. Shot him down cold. He hadn't expected to see her again after that. He _certainly _hadn't expected her to turn up at his house! Krillin suddenly felt very happy. _'Maybe... maybe she likes me!'_

Eighteen was waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she figured she wasn't welcome after all. "Unless you want me to go."

"NO!" Krillin yelled quickly. Eighteen looked taken aback. He cleared his throat. "N-no, that's okay. It's uh... good to see you again."

Silence reigned once more.

"The other day," Eighteen said finally. "You said to those other guys that I didn't do anything wrong. Did you mean that?"

Krillin blinked at her. She had heard that? "Yes. I did."

"I beat up on your friends."

"You didn't beat up on me."

Eighteen considered this. It was true, she hadn't. In fact, after she and Seventeen had beaten the others to a pulp, she had kissed him on the cheek. She had found him... amusing, trying to stand up to them, telling them they didn't have to go after Goku. It had been... kinda cute.

"Besides," Krillin continued, laughing nervously. "It probably did Vegeta good, being brought down a peg. You have _no _idea how cocky he got after he turned Super Saiyan."

Eighteen snorted. "Actually, I do. 'I'm the most powerful being on this planet! I'll turn you into something practical like a toaster, or a washing machine!'" she said, recalling Vegeta's words. "... Idiot."

Krillin laughed nervously again.

Aaand the silence was back. _Yay._

Krillin's mind was whirling. _'What do I say, what do I say? Tell her she's pretty? Ask her out to dinner? Declare my love? Yeah, great idea, that won't creep her out at all!'_

Instead, he said "H-hey. Would you like to come inside? I'll introduce you to Master Roshi – keep your eye on him, he's grabby - and you can, er... have some lemonade, or something. You know. If you want."

Eighteen started to feel uncomfortable. "... No thanks. I think I'll pass." Krillin went pink, staring at his feet. "I'd best be on my way." And before Krillin could say another word, she had turned around and blasted off into the air.

"Wait!" Krillin yelled after her. "Y-you're welcome any time! Seriously!" He slumped down on the ground, smacking himself in the head. _'Damn it! Screwed up again!'_

Eighteen had heard his shout. Huh. Maybe she would take him up on that.

_... Maybe._


	3. Chapter 3

**See, this is why I usually stick to one-shots. Being incredibly lazy and disorganised, it takes me a long time to update multi-chapter fics. My apologies.**

**Also, I'm **_**really**_** not happy with this chapter. At all. But even when I tried changing stuff it just seemed even worse, so... it'll have to do. I just found this chapter really difficult, because I'm still trying to establish everything, and also because I left it so long – I'd actually forgotten what I planned to write here. It should get a bit better in the next one, once that's all out of the way and I can get on with the main bulk of the story. Maybe it's not as bad as I think? I dunno. I hope not. xD**

**Oh, and Merry Christmas, and all that. :P  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Eighteen <em>really<em> wanted a shower. Her hair felt disgusting. But she didn't have anywhere to go to have one. She recalled Krillin's words. _"You're welcome any time!" _ he had said. And how would that look?

"Oh, hi, Krillin, I'm back. I need a shower. Mind if I use yours?"

Even in her head that sounded stupid. No, she'd have to find somewhere else. She looked down at the town she was flying over, spotting a hotel. She smirked. She was sure they wouldn't mind her borrowing their facilities. By the time they found out, she'd be gone, anyway.

She flew down until she was level with the top floor, speeding past the windows. Any humans inside or on the street below wouldn't be able to catch a glimpse of her, she was moving too fast. Finally, she came across a room that seemed empty.

"This'll do," she said to herself, casually breaking the window. Stepping inside, she looked around. "Huh. Cushy." But she wasn't here to admire the room, she reminded herself, making her way over to the en-suite bathroom. Aha! A shower. And there were even tiny little bottles of shampoo and miniature soap. Ah, freebies. You had to love them.

A few minutes later, a thoroughly clean Eighteen was wrapped in a fluffy white towel, regarding her clothes with a disgusted eye. Ewww. She _really_ had to get a new outfit. Sure, she didn't have anywhere to store new clothes, but she could always just go and get _one_ new set. But for now, she'd have to put on these ugly ones again.

She got dressed and flew back out the busted window, snatching the complimentary mints off of the pillows on her way. It would have been fun to stick around and see the reaction of the hotel staff, but a girl needs to shop, after all.

* * *

><p>'<em>Oh, yes.'<em> Thought Eighteen, eyeing her clothing selections happily. _'These are cute.'_ Now, she just had to decide – just take the clothes now, or go into the fitting rooms, change, and leave her gross clothes here?

She couldn't get out of this horrible outfit fast enough, so she went with the second option. Drawing the curtains on the fitting cubicle shut, she ripped the tags off her new clothes before putting them on. As she walked casually towards the exit, one of the shop assistants looked at her confusedly. It took him a while to realise that she had been wearing different clothes when she went into the cubicles. Hurrying over to the cubicle in question, he spotted her old, discarded clothes.

"H-hey!" he yelled, pointing a finger after her. "We've got a shoplifter here!"

Eighteen didn't even look back. She was almost out the door when the security guard caught up to her, grabbing her arm.

"Okay, miss, you're coming with me-"

Eighteen hadn't hit him hard. In fact, she'd barely touched him. And yet, he still went flying backwards into the wall, squealing like a little pig, before crashing to the floor, clothes raining down on his head. Pathetic. By the time he had freed himself, Eighteen was gone.

* * *

><p>She was <em>bored.<em> She had been flying around aimlessly for a while now, but she didn't know what else to do. It was way too soon to go and see Krillin again – it hadn't even been a week. She didn't want to seem... needy, or something. She had to give the illusion that she had _something_ to do.

Eighteen's data informed her that she was approaching Mount Paozu. Huh. Didn't Goku live there? Well, he had. He was dead now, she remembered. She looked down at the forest as she flew, suddenly frowning.

Well, look who it is. She went into a descent.

"Seventeen," she said, once she had landed behind him. "What the hell are you doing?"

Her brother turned, blinking at her. He was standing in front of a ramshackle looking house, some bricks at his feet. He looked like he was trying to patch up a hole in the wall.

"Oh, hey, sis." He said, raising a hand in greeting. "I found this house while I was out flying. Looks like it's just been abandoned for years, no-one was living here. Can you believe that?"

Eighteen looked over the house, at its dark, dank windows, the vegetation growing up the walls, and the spot where the masonry was crumbling.

"No. Really?" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "What _are _people thinking?"

Seventeen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. So it's a fixer-upper."

"I'd say it was more of a tear-it-downer." She smirked. "By the way, you _do_ know this is only a few miles from Goku's house, right?"

"Yeah... and?"

Eighteen shrugged. "Just saying."

"Hn." Seventeen leaned against the wall, making a little more of it flake off. "I hope you don't mind if I don't invite you in. It's not exactly fit for habitation just yet."

"Forgive me if I don't offer to help you clean it up."

"Of course not," said Seventeen, grinning. "Heaven forbid her ladyship get her hands dirty. You might break a nail." Eighteen threw a brick at him. He dodged it easily, snickering. "So what brings you here?"

"Eh. I was just in the neighbourhood."

"And you saw my awesome new digs and just couldn't contain your jealousy, right?"

"Get real. It's a dump."

"Just wait. Come back in a week or two, I'll have it all cleaned up."

"Whatever. Guess I'll leave you to it, then." Said Eighteen, turning to leave.

"Later, sis."

Back in the air, Eighteen flew on at a leisurely pace. What was the point of rushing? Not like there was anywhere she had to be, after all. After another ten minutes or so, she looked down again. Yep, there it was. Goku's house. A woman was stomping around outside – she must me the owner of those horrible clothes that Eighteen had rifled through during the search for Goku. Eighteen could hear her shouting even from up here – the woman certainly had a good pair of lungs on her.

"Gohan? _Gohan!" _she was yelling. "Where have you run off to this time, young man? You're supposed to be studying! Urrgh! I swear, he is in _so_ much trouble when he gets home!"

Gohan? He was the one who had defeated Cell. Of course he would be here, he was Goku's kid after all. And sure enough, there he was, at a river not far from his home, hauling a huge fish from the water. Struck by a sudden curiosity, Eighteen flew down and landed behind him.

"Is your mother always that loud?"

Gohan jumped in surprise. Eighteen smirked in amusement – obviously, he couldn't sense her presence. Being an android certainly came in useful sometimes. Spinning round to face her, the boy raised his fists, getting into a fighting stance. Eighteen rolled her eyes.

"Relax, kid. I won't hurt you." _'Yeah, right. As if I could.' _Although it was difficult to believe that this scrawny looking kid had defeated Cell.

Gohan regarded her closely for a few seconds before nodding and lowering his hands. Eighteen raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You're going to drop your guard just like that?" Gohan shrugged.

"Well, you don't seem like much of a threat. If you were, I'm pretty sure I would have heard about you terrorising the Earth and would have destroyed you already. Besides... Krillin seems to trust you. That's good enough for me. And yes. My mother is usually that loud."

"My sympathies, kid."

"But anyway. What are you doing at my house?"

Eighteen pushed her hair out of her eyes lazily. "I was just in the neighbourhood. Turns out that some family... lives nearby. Thought I'd just drop in. I have some questions for you, anyway."

Gohan blinked in surprise. "Er... questions? For me? Um... okay."

"Right." Folding her arms, Eighteen fixed the boy with a serious look. "What the hell is Krillin's deal?"

Gohan blinked again, confused. "I'm... not sure I follow you." Eighteen tsked impatiently.

"What I mean is, just what does he want from me? He smashes up a controller that could have shut me down completely when anyone else wouldn't have thought twice, risked his life trying to stop Cell absorbing me, and then there was all that stuff at the Lookout place. Why? What's his game?"

"Krillin doesn't want anything from you." When Eighteen didn't look convinced, he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Really! Krillin's not like that. He doesn't help people to get something back, or anything like that. He just likes you."

"_Likes _me?"

"Well, uh, yeah. He really likes you. A lot. That's why he did all that stuff. Even though Trunks said you were bad, he helped you anyway."

"Seriously? He doesn't have some hidden agenda?"

"No!"

"He just... likes me?" The idea seemed absurd.

"Yes. That's all. Really."

"Why?"

"How should I know?" Gohan passed a hand across his face. One minute he was skipping his studies to do a spot of fishing, next minute he was discussing the strange feelings of his best friend with an android who was supposed to destroy the world. When did today get so weird? "It's not like I know what goes on inside that bald head of his. You'll have to ask him that."

"Huh. Maybe I will." Eighteen turned away to leave. "Thanks, I guess." She blasted off into the air, leaving a thoroughly confused Gohan behind.

Well. _That _was weird.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Gohan jumped. His mother was standing nearby, glaring at him, hands on hips. "Just what do you think you're doing, Gohan? You're supposed to be studying, young man! How do you expect to get into a good college if you spend all your time goofing off? Back to work, now!"

"Y-yes ma'am..."

* * *

><p>Krillin was standing on the beach by Kame House, the waves rising and fizzing round his ankles as he let off another Kamehameha across the ocean. Yes, the world was at peace now, and he didn't really have any reason to train, but life could get pretty boring. Not to mention Master Roshi was watching those exercise shows again, so it was either this, or watch the old man drooling at the TV.<br>He sighed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. He still couldn't stop thinking about Eighteen. Where was she? What was she doing? He couldn't help but hope she'd come back again sometime soon.

Krillin heard a noise behind him, and turned round to see Eighteen touching down lightly on the sand before regarding him with a strange look. Krillin gaped. Yet again, he thought about her, and suddenly, she magically appears! Did she have some kind special power, or something? Unbidden, an image of Eighteen dressed as Spiderman, saying "My Krillin-sense is tingling!" popped into his head. Now that was an odd image.

"What?" snapped Eighteen, narrowing her eyes at him. "Is there something on my face?"

Krillin realised he had just been silently staring at her. Again. _'Way to go, idiot, that's not creepy at all!' _he thought. Out loud, he said. "Uh... sorry. It's just... you... came back."

"Well spotted."

"Uh, well, it's just... I wasn't sure... whether you would come back or not." Said Krillin, going slightly pink. Eighteen shifted, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable.

"Well... the thing is... I don't exactly have anywhere else to go." She mumbled.

"Y-you don't? So where have you been all this time?"

Eighteen shrugged. "Just kind of... drifting. It's not as if I have any real estate lying around."

"Well... you could, you know... stay here, if you like." Eighteen raised an eyebrow at him. "I-if you want. I'm sure Master Roshi wouldn't mind. There's a spare room, you could use that... you know. Until you find somewhere, or something."

Eighteen merely looked at him for a long time, considering her options – or, more truthfully, her lack thereof. "... Fine." She said finally. Krillin's heart leapt slightly. She would be staying!

"O-Okay! Great! I'll show you to your room then, and introduce you to Mater Roshi... did I tell you he's grabby?"

"Yes. You did. I'll be sure to be on the lookout for feeble old men. But this is only temporary, okay? I'll only stay a little while. Just until I figure stuff out."

"Sure! Whatever you want!" Krillin couldn't help the big grin that had spread across his face. This could be his chance to get to know her a little better. "Follow me."

She could stay for a couple days, Eighteen supposed, as she fell into step behind Krillin. It couldn't hurt. And it sure beat floating around doing nothing, after all.  
>But only for a few days.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**OMG. OMG. What's this? Is it.. it IS! It's an actual chapter, and it's only taken seven months! O_O  
>Really, I'm sorry for how long this took. I had some... things... happen at the start of the year that kinda drove all thoughts of writing from my mind, and by the time I thought about writing again, I'd totally forgotten where I was actually going with this. I'm still trying to grab hold of all the little ideas I had for this, I know they're floating around in my head somewhere.<br>So I hope this chapter is okay, and I'll try to be more consistent from now on. It's just going to take a little while to get back into the swing of it. I actually have the ending for this fic written already, it's just all the bits in between that I have to fill in. :P**

**I also hope people still **_**want**_** to read this... xD**

* * *

><p>A few days her... <em>foot<em>.

She'd been here two weeks now.

Every time Eighteen thought she should probably leave, she ended up deciding against it. She still didn't have anywhere else to go. And it was quite nice having a bed to sleep in. She didn't really need to sleep – her mechanical parts gave her endless energy, after all, and rendered sleep quite unnecessary – but it certainly got boring being awake all the time, and it was pleasant to have somewhere she could just crash for a few hours if she felt like it. It was the same with food. She didn't need it, but she could still eat if she wanted to, and enjoyed the taste of some food. What foods she actually liked, however, were a mystery to her – she hadn't eaten since she had been activated, and as she could remember nothing of her life before becoming an android, she had no clue what she used to enjoy eating. When she had said this to Krillin, on the first morning she had stayed here, he seemed to take it as a personal challenge to help her rediscover all her favourite foods.

"_So, I was wondering, what would you like for breakfast?"_

"_What?" His offer had taken Eighteen aback._

"_Well, we're cooking breakfast, so I thought I'd come and see what you'd like. Do you just want some cereal, or toast? Or something a bit more filling? I could do you some eggs if you like. How do you like your eggs, by the way?"_

_Eighteen stared at him, dumbfounded. Krillin began to look confused, and then a little worried, in case he'd somehow said something wrong – although he wasn't sure how eggs could have offended her._

"_I... don't know."_

"_Eh?"_

"_I don't know how I like my eggs. I don't even know if I like eggs. I don't know any foods I like. I can't remember."_

"_Oh." Krillin's face brightened suddenly. "Well, tell you what, I'll do all kinds. And I'll do some other stuff too, so you can try a bunch of stuff and find out what you do like. Sound good?"_

"_Um... I guess."_

"_Okay then, I'll go and get started. Come down whenever you're ready." He turned to leave._

"_Krillin?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_... Thanks."_

And so every day, Krillin made sure she had some new foods to try, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It turned out she liked her eggs hard boiled. She also liked most meats, and fajitas, and pasta. It soon transpired that she did not, however, like tomatoes, having spat one out so forcefully upon trying one that it got stuck to the back of Master Roshi's head.

It was... quite fun, actually, rediscovering all these foods. Krillin was always trying to think of new things to give her, and laughed at her reaction to foods she really didn't like, but he always made sure never to give them to her again.

She was actually quite enjoying staying here. Master Roshi had initially looked apprehensive when Krillin announced she would be staying – no doubt he had believed her to be an evil, murderous android - but he had gradually started to loosen up. Krillin was right, though, he _was _grabby, and persistent, too. It didn't matter how many times Eighteen punched him through a wall, he still came back for more, accidentally on purpose tripping over and landing in her chest. He wasn't as feeble as she had thought he'd be, either – although she had no doubt that she'd still be able to snap him like a twig.

The room she had wasn't so bad, either. The bed was comfortable, and there was actually a _wardrobe._ So she finally had somewhere to store new clothes, and Eighteen wasted no time in filling it up. Thankfully, neither Krillin nor Roshi had asked how she was paying for all her little shopping trips. If they had, she'd likely reply with a raised eyebrow and an amused "... Paying?"

And somehow she doubted they'd approve of that.

Aside from that, though, there really wasn't much to do around here. She'd tried watching TV a few times, but Roshi was usually there already, and the old man had some disturbing taste in shows. It was either vomit-inducing soap operas, or scantily clad women jumping up and down. Eighteen had little desire to watch either, and even less desire to watch Roshi drooling, wrinkled face a few inches from the screen.

She'd tried reading, too, but decent books seemed to be a little thin on the ground. She made a mental note to "purchase" some on her next visit to the city.

So for the past few days, she'd taken to just sitting outside on the sand, watching the waves, and thinking about what her next step should be. And it was while she was doing this that she heard footsteps behind her, and Krillin's voice.

"Hey. Uh... mind if I join you?"

She shrugged, and Krillin lowered himself to the ground next to her. Neither of them said anything for a while. Krillin just fidgeted, idly tracing in the sand with his foot. It was Eighteen who broke the silence, wanting an answer to a question she had been pondering for a while now.

"Hey," she started, and Krillin looked surprised that she had decided to talk. "I've been wondering..."

"Yeah?"

"Where's Sixteen?"

Krillin blinked. He hadn't really been expecting that. "... huh?" Eighteen turned to face him, raising an eyebrow.

"Sixteen? You know. Big guy. Red hair. Doesn't talk much." she said, smirking.

"Yeah, I know who you mean, but..."

"I haven't seen him, not since he was trying to protect me from Cell. What happened to him?"

Krillin looked down at the ground, eyes sad. "I'm sorry, Eighteen, but... he's gone. Cell destroyed him."

"So?" Krillin looked at her, slightly shocked. Eighteen thought she better elaborate. "Well, you said that the dragon bought back everyone who Cell killed. And if he was killed by Cell, he should be back too, right? Do you know where he is?"

Krillin looked sad again. "Eighteen... he... didn't come back."

"Why not? If everyone killed by-"

"No, you don't understand. The dragon... he can only bring back people. Living things. Sixteen... well... he wasn't human. So the dragon... couldn't bring him back."

Eighteen just stared at him. "That doesn't make any sense. _I'm_ not human, and neither is Seventeen, but the dragon bought _him_ back, so..." she trailed off, as Krillin was shaking his head.

"No... you _are_ humans. Or you were. You were just... modified a little. That's why Seventeen was bought back. But Sixteen... he was never a human. Dr. Gero built him entirely himself, right? So... he can't be wished back. He was... well... a machine."

Eighteen was silent for a while, before saying quietly, "He was not."

"Huh?"

"He wasn't just a machine. He wasn't. He tried to protect me. He... he liked birds. And animals. And he was kind. He had a hell of a lot more humanity than some of the humans I've seen."

Krillin nodded. "Hey, I agree with you. He was a good guy. I didn't think of him as just a machine, either, but..." he stopped, not really knowing how to describe it. "He fought with us. With Goku, even though he was programmed to kill him, he... chose to ignore that, at least for a while. He had free will, and in my book, that made him pretty damn human." When Eighteen didn't say anything, he carried on. "He died... trying to take Cell down, you know. Said there was too much good in the world to let Cell destroy it. We all knew he was a good guy. Everyone was shocked when Cell killed him, even Vegeta. And we tried to see if there was anything we could do for him. Me and Yamcha, we went back to the battlefield, picked up all the bits of him we could find, and took them to our friend, Bulma. She repaired him when he was damaged before, and I was kind of hoping that she could do it again, but... she said there... wasn't enough left to fix him." He sighed sadly. "I'm... really sorry, Eighteen. I really wanted him to come back, too."

Eighteen remained silent, staring out into the ocean. "I just... wanted to thank him, was all," she said finally. "For helping me. He... he was a friend." Krillin nodded, studying her face carefully. She didn't look any different than before, didn't look all that sad, but he supposed it'd be hard to tell, anyway. She wasn't the type to wear her emotions on her sleeve. When it became clear that she had done talking, he stood up.

"Well, I'll... leave you alone for a while. Give me a shout if you want anything, okay?" he said quietly, turning back towards the house.

"Krillin." He turned back at the sound of her voice. She had turned her head to the side, but wasn't looking at him. "... Thanks."

"What for?"

"For trying to help Sixteen. For talking about him... like a person."

She turned back to the sea, drawing her knees up to her chest and Krillin smiled sadly, leaving her to her thoughts.


End file.
